The Search for Gravitational Waves
Norna A Robertson
University of Glasgow and Stanford University
The existence of gravitational waves, ripples in the curvature of
spacetime, is a prediction of Einstein's general theory of relativity.
As yet these elusive waves remain undetected. However there is a
currently a large international effort to build long baseline
interferometric detectors whose expected sensitivity is such that we may
see the first detection of these waves from astrophysical sources. The
experimental challenge is formidable: detection relies on sensing
displacements of order 10^(-18) m over a wide bandwidth. However the
potential pay-off is exciting - the detection of these waves could lead
to a new branch of astronomy. In this talk I will give an introduction
to this topic, including possible astrophysical sources and general
principles of detection. I will review the status of the long baseline
detectors including the German /UK GEO 600 project and the US LIGO
project. I will also look to the future to consider possible
improvements in sensitivity for ground-based detectors, and briefly
cover the proposed space-based detector LISA.